it was to be paid for in part by new york city. but before construction could begin, new york city went broke. nelson rockefeller left the governor's office to become vice president, and louis kahn, the architect with the vision for this place, died of a heart attack while carrying plans for the park in his briefcase. it began to look like all this would remain just a noble pipe dream. >> the office at 1501 walnut street was the last place i saw my father. >> reporter: then nine years ago, 30 years after the park was first commissioned, nathaniel kahn made a movie about about his father the architect and mentioned the f.d.r. park as a project that seemed to die when kahn did. >> the list of jobs that fell through and didn't get built kept getting longer and longer. >> reporter: the film helpd rekindle interest in finally building the park, enough interest to raise from private sources the $50 million it cost. to look around this room, this place, to feel him. it feels like his architecture. you know, after that many years, it... >>